dreamer, dream your dreams {zi}

[Elessar]

WELL HE LIVES IN A F A I R Y T A L E

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It was late morning. The bright summer's day had dawned glorious and warm, but not too hot. Some moght call it the perfect day for a Gather. The ocean waves crashed on the shore, pushing and pulling shells along with them as the tides moved, just as time moved with it. The sun shone bright from inbetween fluffy white clouds in shapes of dragons, swords, and whatever else one's mind could possibly imagine. Along the beach itself, the sand was hard from where the tide was ebbing, but gave way to softer dunes farther away from the water.

Along, the harder, more packed sand, a young man was having a great, fierce battle with armies of imaginary enemies. A stick in one hand, to act as his mighty sword, and a sling in his other (just in case), M'sa ran around wildly. Swinging the stone-heavy sling and lashing out with the stick, he slashed about left and right, yelling, "Aaaahh! Come at me, you villians!" Giving a particularly nasty "villian" a stab in the chest, he turned suddenly, swinging his sling crazily. "Thought you'd sneak up from beind, would you?! Well take that, and that! It'll take more than you to take down M'sa, ahahahaha!"

Throwing himself down on the sand, thoroughly satisfied he had vanquished a thousand imagined enemies, the man breathed heavily for a few moments before waving to an object up in the sky: his faithful dragon, Lazarinizulisicath. Grinning as the female brown landed carefully and snaked her head around to his lap, M'sa laughed and hugged her giant head. There was no one he loved so much as his dragon!

Still panting, he scratched the brown's eye ridges as she hummed in appreciation. What would we do without you, brave warrior? You must have conquered over a thousand enemies!

[/color] M'sa's smile widened, and he hugged the dragon again, his chest heaving. "Yeah! Next time you should play, too. I bet we could take out two thousand if you helped!" The motherly brown gave a draconic chuckle and hummed happily.

"We should build a sand castle now. Wanna help?" Lazarinizulisicath declined to answer, but instead swept her wings in a wide arch and shuffled her feet, drawing up a large ammount of sand for her Bonded to use. "WOW!" He cried, as if they didn't do this frequently. Grabbing some sand, he set to work molding it into a castle. "I wish we had someone else to play with. And I wish you had a friend, too." Do not worry, M'saLove. We are new here. Friends will come in time.[/color]

The man couldn't argue with sensible dragon logic like that, so he returned to building his castle. He imagined somewhere there must be great castles and warriors that fought for valor and justice. He just... didn't know where. One day, my child, we will find them.[/color] M'sa smiled widely, his large, calloused hands as gentle as a child's as he formed more sand into the desired shape. "One day, Laz. One day soon!"[/BLOCKQUOTE][/BLOCKQUOTE][/SIZE]
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[Zirin]

They had finished up a routine patrol. That was all there was to it, and that generally made U'wa happy. They hadn't run into anything suspicious, they hadn't been flamed from the air, and Peniath had worked off a bit of extra energy so, all in all, it had been a very good sweep. The green swooped down towards the sand beach, knowing her rider would love to walk along the waters edge and enjoy the serenity of nature before returning to camp.

He found himself missing Trelis more and more each day. He just didn't belong here. He spent most of his days being yelled at or reprimanded for failing to complete a task properly. In fact, he was surprised they let him do sweeps on his own these days, though something in the back of his mind told him they wanted to get rid of someone useless like him. He was just too shy for the Rebellion! I don't think so, U'waMine. I know you're brave when you need to be! The green crooned back at him as she splashed through the waves. Oh! Mine, there's someone over there! Should we go over and say hi? I want to make a new friend today! The green chirped and was about to hop off towards them, until a firm command from her rider kept her back.

"What if it's a bad guy Peniath? We should.. um... spy on them?" The green wiggled in anticipation as U'wa crept up behind a rock, watching sheepishly and forgetting that his full grown green wasn't exaclty blending in with the sand. The boy was making a... sandcastle? Well that hardly seemed dangerous!

[Elessar]

WELL HE LIVES IN A F A I R Y T A L E

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M'sa, for his part, was completely oblivious, his hands completely covered in sand. Lazarinizulisicath, however, spotted the green almost immediately, and a deep thrumming snarl rose in her chest, her eyes beginning to swirl red. Looking up, M'sa gazed in the direction of his dragon's look, and spotted a young man with curly hair and a green dragon.

The rider stood up, placing a hand on Lazarinizulisicath's brown hide. "Easy," he told her, his eyes watching the other dragon-rider pair. They didn't... look... dangerous... Appearances are not everything, my child! We must be careful!

[/color] Thankfully (to M'sa, anyway), the brown's snarl lessened, and he was able to step away from her, to move a teensy tiny bit closer to the other man.

"Hello!" He called, his voice friendly. "We're making a sand castle. Lazarinizulisicath and I. Um, this is Lazarinizulisicath. I usually call her Laz. Oh, uh, she's a female brown. Are you part of the Rebellion?" He was in deep trouble if this other rider wasn't, as he had just given away that he probably was in the Rebellion. The brown gave a nudge to M'sa's back, sending him stumbling forward. He clutched his sling warily.

They really didn't look dangerous... "Do you want to play with us? I bet with you, me, Laz and you're dragon, we could make a reeeeally big sand castle!" All of his fears of the other pair seemed to melt away as the idea of a huge sand castle entered his mind. "I'm M'sa. And that's Lazarinizulisicath. Oh, drat, I already said that!" The man hung his head with a sigh, and looked up shyly. "Well, um, do you wanna play or not?"[/BLOCKQUOTE][/BLOCKQUOTE][/SIZE]
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[Zirin]

U'wa froze as he was spotted. Drat! He was going to be in so much trouble if they weren't rebels! He's snarling at us U'waMine! What a nasty brown! I just wanted to be friends! Peniath crooned pitifully as she stepped up beside U'wa, positive they would need to try to escape. U'wa however, looked at the other man in shock as he came the tiniest bit closer and greeted them. He was so friendly.. he couldn't possibly be bad, could he?

U'wa shuffled out from behind the rock, sheepishly twiddling his fingers as the man, for he was certainly older than U'wa first thought, introduced his brown. His female brown? A mutant... and he was asking about the Rebellion? Surely this guy was an ally then! Pleased with his awesome deductive abilities, U'wa gave a shy wave.

"I-I'm um.. U'wa... " He mumbled, not looking at the other pair. Beside him Peniath huffed in annoyance and stepped forward, broadcasting for the other pair to hear. I want you to talk up U'waMine! You'll never be heard like that and I want to meet them! Hello! I am Peniath! U's shuffled a bit closer, glancing at the sand castle in curiosity. Had the man, M'sa, made it?

"A-aren't you too old t-to be making sandcastles?" He asked sheepishly, "Father said... father said playing was for children..." Even still, U'wa approached a bit more, his eyes showing clear interest in what he had been doing. He wanted to play! he really did, but was it alright to do so?

[Elessar]

WELL HE LIVES IN A F A I R Y T A L E

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The green crooned rather pitifully, causing M'sa to glance at her, and then back to Lazarinizulisicath. Stop. He silently ordered his dragon. Please. He just wanted to make a friend! The brown wasn't happy about it, but the snarl died in her throat at her rider's orders.

The other male came out from behind the rock, clearly uncomfortable. However, after he seemed to think for a few seconds, he gave a quick wave, which M'sa returned with much more enthusiasm. Told you they were nice.. He told his dragon. The over-protective, motherly brown huffed. Just be careful... I don't trust them yet, my child.

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M'sa nodded absently, but his sling had already slipped from his fingers when he had waved. The other man was introducing himself! Good, they were friends now! Right? That was how it worked, right? M'sa jumped as the green's voice blasted into his mind. He smiled sheepishly. "Hello, Peniath," he said, waving to the green.

U'wa moved closer, and M'sa's grin slipped off of his face like mud. Maybe this guy wasn't going to be friendly... "S-s-s-sandc-c-c-castles a-aren't f-f-for ch-ch-children!" He stuttered, his face flushing a glorious red. "A-and I d-don't care w-what your f-f-f-father said! I l-l-like pla-playing! I-if y-you're j-j-just going to m-m-make f-fun of me, g-go away!"

Lazarinizulisicath stepped forward, placing the very-red and teary M'sa between her forepaws. I advice you to either be nice, or leave.[/color] She broadcasted to the other pair. If the green's was going to make fun of Hers, the brown would not hesitate to fight.
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[Zirin]

He was so friendly! U'wa sighed in relief. It was sucha nice change from the grumpy, vicious riders that seemed to make up the Rebellion. Oh how he hoped this man would stay friendly with him! They could chat and be nice and eat fruit and relax! It would be amazing! Peniath chirped in agreement.

Never in a million Turns had he been prepared for his question to bring the man to near tears! Panicking U'wa's face turned just as red and he frantically shuffled closer, completely ignorant of the big protective brown. "I-i-i-i-I'm s-sorry! I-I d-didn't mean! M-m-m'sa!!" He flailed about, not knowing how to handle the situation. He wanted to be friends! That was all! Had he ruined his chance?

Laziru.. laziri... Lazafns;dklfjdgn. Brown Missy! He wants to play! Honest! Peniath flapped her wings, trying to distract the rather protective brown so she could speak. U'waMine hasn't been able to play in a long time, BrownMissy! He doesn't know how! U'wa dropped down into the sands, a terrified look on his face as he stared sheepishly up at M'sa and his dragon. "I-I'm sorry! H-honest!"

[Elessar]

WELL HE LIVES IN A F A I R Y T A L E

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Wait, what? He was... apologizing? M'sa wasn't in a million turns prepared for the other man to actually be nice! He was still very, very red, but he wasn't nearly as teary. Instead, he was just confused. Well, they had come to the Rebellion for a change... maybe they had gotten it?

Lazarinizulisicath roared. It is Lazarinizulisicath, green one, not BrownMissy! And I take it for you to remember that!

[/color] At the roaring of the brown and the flapping wings of the green, M'sa fell to his knees, his hands clasped over his ears. "ST-S-ST-STOP F-F-FIGHTING!" He yelled, shaking his head violently.

Immediately, Lazarinizulisicath broke off her hissing, and knelt beside M'sa, her wing folding over him. Hush, my child. Hush. No more fighting. No more.[/color] Slowly, M'sa regained his composure, and stood up, his blue eyes having a rather odd, far look to them.

At Peniath's next words, Lazarinizulisicath felt rather ashamed of herself. Still standing protectively next to M'sa, she lowered her head to his level. My child. U'wa has not been able to play in a very long time. He has forgotten how. Go teach him.[/color] A smile graced M'sa's face, and he darted forward.

Grabbing U'wa by the hand, he did his best to pull the other man to his feet. "You don't know how?! How silly! Come on, come on, come on, I'll teach you! It's fun! Come on, come on, come on!"
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[Zirin]

Peniath huffed. it wasn't her fault BrownMissy's name was too long to remember! She would try though! For Hers' sake. Laz... Lazi... Lazari...cath... Lazicath! BrownMissy sounds better though you know. She cocked her head to the side, peering at M'sa curious as the boy, for he certainly acted like a boy, started yelling. What was she supposed to do! BrownMissy was being mean and Peniath just wanted to be able to call her something!

U'wa yelped in surprise as he suddenly found himself being dragged off. This guy was older than him, at least it looked that way despite the way he acted, and he rode a brown so surely he knew what was allowed and what wasn't, right? Smiling now that M'sa seemed to be happy, U'wa followed along, happy to be doing at least something right. "F-Father never let me play..." He mumbled sadly, watching M'sa so he could learn. "F-father told me I had to grow up and b-be a... a m-man... and m-men d-don't have t-time for fun...."

He twiddled his fingers again. U’wa had always enjoyed his free time by reading or simply relaxing. It had been Turns and Turns since he had been young enough to be allowed to play, and those memories were long gone, hidden deep within his memories. Now though… now he had a chance to play, to be the child he was never allowed to be! It was, in a way, thrilling!

[Elessar]

WELL HE LIVES IN A FAIRYTALE

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Lazarinizulisicath sighed at the green. ...close enough.

[/color] She huffed. And if this green was to call her "BrownMissy" for the rest of her days... well, she would do it for M'sa. He deserved a friend, and it looked like this strange boy might be the one that would provide him with the friendship he so clearly needed.

M'sa grinned, dragging U'wa over to the sand castle. Dropping to his knees, he busied himself with the sand again, until U'wa spoke. Turning to the other male, M'sa cocked his head to the side. "I don't understand. You don't ever have to grow up. You can be young forever! And there is always, always, always, always time for fun!" He smiled and nodded, and grabbed U'wa's hands to show him how to mold the sand.

Lazarinizulisicath gave the green one last look before moving over to where the two men were making sandcastles, and settling herself down a bit off to the side. Wherever M'sa went, she was there to watch him, take care of him. Sometimes... he needed it. And she was a protector, a mother. That was why he was Hers, why she had chosen him as her Bonded.

Do you know why you chose Yours, Peniath?[/color] The brown asked from her position, her eyes turning back to gaze at the other dragon. The brown had a very good reason to choose M'sa, and she often wondered at the reasons other dragons had for choosing Theirs. Maybe Peniath would share why she chose Hers?
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[Zirin]

Peniath’s eyes whirled happily, feeling as if she had succeeded in calling her new friend properly. Hopefully Lazarinizulisicath was a dragon with high tolerance, for Peniath was often not much better than a child herself. I’m glad BrownMissy! Your name is so long? I want to know why! Peniath was a dragon of many questions at times.

U’wa sat down in the sands next to M’sa, feeling shockingly comfortable with the older man. U’wa was rarely comfortable around anyone, but it was like he knew he wouldn’t be judged poorly by this fellow. “A-always time for fun?” U’wa’s eyes lit up. He liked having fun, he just didn’t know how to actually play; fun for him was reading and relaxing and bathing Peniath. He watched was M’sa was doing, and after a brief example of how to mold the sand, U’wa seemed to get the hang of it.

He tried making a tower, and when it came out rather decently, though a bit lopsided, U’wa’s confidence grew. “We… we should make two castles!” He blurted out, his eyes shining with excitement. Who knew sand could be this much fun! He grinned at M’sa, happy to have run into the child-like man. “Oh… what do you do when the castle is finished…?” His stuttering wasn’t surfacing, showing a relatively relaxed state as he asked.

Peniath cocked her head to the side before plopping herself into the sand, sending up a light spray towards the two riders. She thought about the question for a moment, trying to remember her hatching day, though she needed U’wa’s help for it. Mine was perfect! That’s why! She chirped happily, not at all understanding the question at first.

“P-peni…” U’wa mumbled, having had the brown’s question passed to him, “I think she w-wants to know why I was perfect for you…” The green nodded her head in thought. Oh~! OH! I know! He has a big heart! Yup, I wanted him because he would love me right. Right U’waMine?

[Elessar]

WELL HE LIVES IN A FAIRYTALE

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It was a good thing that Lazarinizulisicath was such a patient dragon. She was very much a brown in that way: her patience rarely wore thin. My name is long because it is my name. I did not choose it, I just knew it, as you knew yours.

[/color] The female crossed her paws in a knowing sort of way.

M'sa nodded his head, his eyes focused on the sand in front of him and not at all on U'wa. "Always, always, always," He replied quickly, still not looking at the other man. "Always time for fun." M'sa had decided he liked this strange other man who didn't know how to play. He was odd and quirky, that was for sure, but M'sa liked him!

Out of the corner of his eye, he noted U'wa's tower, but looked away rather quickly. At the man's outburst, M'sa turned to stare at him as if he had just sprouted two heads. Slowly, a grin spread across his face. "That's a really good idea!" He cried. Quickly drawing a line in the sand, he pointed. "Your side. My side. And then we can connect them with a bridge!"

Eyes shining, he quickly set to work on his side of the line. At U'wa's question, he didn't look up, but spoke to the sand. "You leave it. And in the night the ocean washes them away so you can make another one tomorrow." He nodded vigorously, hands quickly shaping the sand into various shapes and towers. "Clean slate in the morning, clean slate."

M'sa didn't even notice the light spray of sand that was sent up by Peniath. Lazarinizulisicath waited for a few seconds for the answer to come, and when it did, the brown sighed a draconic sigh. Greens... But Peniath's Own seemed to want to help! Lazarinizulisicath was beginning to like this other human more and more as he explained exactly what she wanted answered.

At Peniath's answer, the brown turned to look at U'wa, her eyes spinning. You were right, GreenOne. He has a very big heart. He loves not only you, but all.[/color] The brown could already see it: U'wa would be friends with Hers and would not harm him or tease him. A big heart indeed!
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[Zirin]

U’wa grinned again. It seemed so obvious now that building a bridge would be the final step to this sandcastle business! How could he have not thought of it before? Or was he failing by not thinking on his own? He winced to himself and tensed, as if waiting for punishment of some sort for asking too many questions and not figuring out the answer on his own. But instead of punishment, he got a grin from M’sa and the boy, for it was hard to think of him as a man for some reason, quickly started drawing a line in the sand and explaining the new rules.

U’wa watched the brownrider begin his castle, trying to catch pointers on how to start, and soon he had a nice looking base going for him. “Clean… slate…” U’wa mumbled more to himself than anything. How nice it would be if he could just wipe away parts of his past and start over, be someone else? Oh! Oh but you can! They don’t know about your past, so isn’t that the same? Peniath chortled, clearly amused. She may be an idiot most of the time, but she had her moments. Grinning, U’wa attacked his castle with more fervor.

“I want to make a river… under the bridge. Can we do that?” There was a line after all! Could the river be on both sides, or only his? There were so many questions, so many things to think about when building a castle! He added designs to his towers, and soon it began taking the form of his home Hold. How nostalgic it was, to see a makeshift form of the place he had left behind, the place where he had known the joys of his mother and sister. Those days were long gone now… he rarely saw his sister anymore. His arm drooped to his side sadly.

Peniath’s eyes whirled in concern and she nudged her rider tenderly as the brown spoke to her. That’s my U’wa! He’s a chicken on the outside, but he’ll never fail anyone! He makes me happy.

[Elessar]

WELL HE LIVES IN A FAIRYTALE

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M'sa didn't notice U'wa's grin. He was still way too concentrated on building his castle. Walls, turrets, and towers were slowly forming into a more unified structure as the rider worked, drawing more sand close to him from the pile his dragon had made as was necessary.

He didn't notice U'wa watching him, or how the other man mumbled. He didn't notice anything until the other man spoke again. His head shot up suddenly, his eyes blazing in excitement. "A river! That's perfect! Right along the line, right there!" He nodded and deepened the line, making little wave marks along it to indicate that it was to be a river later.

While U'wa's "castle" was taking on the form of his home Hold, M'sa's was coming completely from his imagination. Some parts were from Southern Weyr, some from the Rebellion Camp, and some were just plain made up. It all culminated into what M'sa invisioned as his "perfect place," the place where he could be truly safe and happy.

Lazarinizulisicath gave a draconic chuckle. Is that not what Ours are for? To make us happy, whole and complete? And for us to make Ours happy, whole and complete?

[/color] The brown was wise in her own way, but sometimes it didn't show very well.
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[Zirin]

“Where is that?” U’wa finally asked, having noticed that M’sa’s castle looked rather… odd. Certainly it was different than any place U’wa had seen before, though if he wasn’t mistaken part of it looked an awful lot like the rebel camp. The rest of it definitely didn’t look like camp though. Did the boy just have a bad memory? U’wa’s memory was rather good, especially when it came to visuals. However, much like with playing, his childhood had not involved learning much about imagination, and what little creativity he had once had, had been long since driven out of him by his father. U’wa knew only how to copy or recreate.

He glanced back at his Hold castle, working on the details more, and even trying to make a tiny wher den along the top wall, right where he remembered it being. There! Surely his castle was done now. He glanced to where the bridge should be, but paused. “There’s no bridge back home though…” He said aloud. How was he supposed to make a bridge when there was no bridge to base it off of!? He pondered the situation.

Peniath rumbled contently, knowing she made U’wa just as happy as he made her, even if they had their sad moments at times. She knew all about what made her rider sad though, and she tried to cheer him up, just as he would do for her. There are many things that make Mine happy though. But it’s okay if it isn’t me. We have fun together and that’s that!

[Elessar]

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"It's not anywhere," M'sa answered, putting the finishing touches on one last tower. "It's just some place imagined. It only exists in my head." He shrugged, and added a few more details to his imagined happy-place. He liked it there. In his head, it was always peaceful, with only a few people. Maybe U'wa would be there some time soon.

M'sa was pondering this as U'wa spoke again. "Doesn't need to be a bridge back home," he told the other man. "Imagine one." Taking some sand, he slowly began to form his half of the bridge, careful to place some sand-risers beneath it so it wouldn't fall. He also made sure the risers would avoid the river, however. M'sa had an eye for architecture, that was for sure.

Lazarinizulisicath hummed back. Perhaps she had made a friend...? Being bonded to M'sa, the brown had never really made any close friends. But maybe Peniath would be her friend. Maybe. The brown rumbled at the green's words. GreenOne, you are correct.

[/color] Indeed... they had fun together, and that was that!
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